Woodford

*946 Opinion

William Woodford pleaded guilty to five felony counts of unlawful sexual intercourse with a female under the age of eighteen. He originally sought to suppress evidence at his preliminary hearing pursuant to Penal Code section 1538.5, but the magistrate refused to entertain the motion. Claiming the magistrate’s refusal to hear the motion was erroneous, Woodford challenged his commitment to superior court pursuant to Penal Code section 995. He now attempts to appeal the denial of his Penal Code section 995 motion. We conclude Woodford’s guilty pleas preclude this appeal.

I

Before Woodford’s preliminary hearing, his attorney filed a formal motion to suppress the testimony of the prosecutrix, arguing the testimony was the fruit of an illegal detention and unlawful search. (Pen. Code, § 1538.5.) The prosecution objected, arguing no fruits of any claimed illegality would be offered into evidence. Defense counsel made the following offer of proof: “It is my belief that if a motion to suppress were heard and testimony were taken . . . [it] would show that an illegal detention occurred and that the victim, Tammy [O.], was first discovered as a result of an illegal detention…

I dissent. As relevant here, Penal Code section 1538.5, subdivision (m) provides, “A defendant may seek further review of the validity of a search or seizure on appeal from a conviction in a criminal case notwithstanding the fact that such judgment of conviction is predicated upon a plea of guilty. Such review on appeal may be obtained by the defendant providing that at some stage of the proceedings prior to conviction he has moved for the return of property or the suppression of the evidence.” (Italics added.) Seems clear enough to me. Woodford did move at some stage of the proceedings to suppress evidence; he may therefore appeal from a conviction based on a plea of guilty. Nothing in the section suggests the majority’s additional requirement that the motion be heard as well as made. And what justice could there be in a such a rule as applied to this case, where the majority concedes the municipal court erred in refusing an evidentiary hearing and the superior court incorrectly denied the motion brought under Penal Code section 995?

Moreover, it is not exactly accurate to say there was no hearing. There was no evidentiary hearing; but a hearing on offers of proof, which is…